Sophoan Khoeun

Vice PRESIDENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Born during the tail-end of the Khmer Rouge regime in Battambang Cambodia, Sophoan Khoeun and his family left their war-torn homeland in 1979, found refuge in Chicago, IL in 1984 and has been a proud member of the Cambodian-American community ever since. Mr. Khoeun received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He lived and worked for an NGO in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2001-2002. From 2002 to 2004, he was part of the Capital Campaign that culminated in the grand-opening of the current National Cambodian Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial. After joining the private sector, he served on the advisory committee that launched the Museum’s first exhibit. He is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to an organization and a space that fosters community connections, opportunities for dialogue, growth and healing. Like other communities that have been afflicted by generational trauma, healing is the key for moving from surviving to thriving. To that end, Mr. Khoeun is passionate about art and music as a powerful tool for finding common-ground, and for the diaspora’s coping and story-telling. He co-founded KEILA (Khmers Embracing & Inspiring Life with Adventure). He, his wife and two children live in the Chicagoland area. Other than spending time with their puppy, you can find him creating art, training and racing in endurance sports, or planning for the next amazing adventure in the great outdoors.